Page 129 of Desperate Crimes
I flinch.Not from fear.
But from the force of the feeling in him.
The burn in his stare.
His electric blue gaze, sparking flames inside my blood, is on mine, unrelenting.
He moves fast.Like a cobra.Lifting me in his arms, like I weigh nothing, and my legs open automatically, gown riding high as I lock them around his waist.
“You’re mine,” he says, fierce and final.“My wife.My Princess.”
He takes the stairs to our bedroom, and my chest is heaving as I hold on to him.
Tight.Too tight.
“I meant every word of my fucking vows.And I’ll say them again, and again, if that’s what it takes for you to believe it.”
“But now you’re leaving,” I whisper, my lips brushing his ear.
He groans.
I say it again.
“Your leaving.For maybe months.And I’ll be alone.”
Nico pauses at the top of the stairs.One hand grips my neck, the other is holding onto my ass.
“I can’t take you, Princess,” he says, a muscle ticking in his jaw.“The places I’m going?They’re dangerous.This isn’t some fucking vacation.There are people out there who’d cut off my hands just to hold this deal.I need you safe.”
I nod slowly, holding on to him so tight.
Like he’s just gonna disappear at any moment.
Like this is all I’m ever going to have of him.
“I understand that,” I whisper.“I do.I’m just confused.”
My voice trails off as tears threaten.
“Fuck, please don’t cry.You’re killing me, Leanna.”
Killing him?I want to laugh, but I can’t.
“How long will you be gone for real?”
“Six weeks minimum.Maybe a couple of months.”
“I was right.You’ll be away from me for months.”
He clenches his jaw.
“I’ll call.Every chance I get.I swear it.And when I’m done—when this is settled—we’ll start over.Do it the way we should have.The way you deserve.”
But I’m already drifting.
Floating somewhere outside of my own body.Numb.
I don’t respond to that.I can’t.
